“I have never supported Taiwan independence.” famous taiwanese hostCai Kangyong On October 25, he released a statement on Weibo in an attempt to downplay the controversy over his participation in the Democratic Progressive Party’s Taipei mayoral candidacy.shen boyang The campaign caused political turmoil. Unsurprisingly, the explanation was not accepted by some public opinion in mainland China and also received mixed reviews in Taiwan. From cutting off Chinese brands to requesting the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council to take a clear stance, Tsai Kang-yong unexpectedly fell into cross-Strait political conflict.
Tsai Kang-yong, who has long been active on both sides of the Taiwan Strait as a host, writer and cultural figure, stressed that contact with different political figures does not mean one agrees with each other’s positions. However, when political identity is linked to commercial interests, how much scope do cultural workers have to maintain political ambiguity?
On October 4, Tsai Kang-yong appeared at the opening meeting of Shen Boyang’s campaign headquarters holding a “Taipei Shun Up” cheering stick. After the footage was posted on the mainland Internet, some netizens interpreted his actions as supporting Taiwan independence and called for boycotts and sanctions.
Cai Kangyong said that he was there only to hear different opinions and did not declare support for any specific political stance. However, some public opinion in mainland China believes that attending political events has symbolic value in itself. Propaganda platforms belonging to the mainland military also commented, elevating the incident from an online controversy to a cross-strait political topic.
👉Cai Kangyong supports Shen Boyang and Chinese netizens call for ban
👉Cai Kangyong appeared in Shen Boyang’s campaign promoting Chinese military media without criticizing him by name
Political disputes quickly spilled over into business partnerships. Chinese electric vehicle brand Leapmotor only promoted Cai Kangyong as a “brand friend” in September. On the night of October 4, it announced that it would remove relevant materials from the shelves, emphasizing that it is not a brand spokesperson and affirming its adherence to the one-China principle.
This reporter from the United Daily News went to the Beijing Leapmotor Auto Experience Center the next day and found that Cai Kangyong’s promotional photos and signboards were no longer visible.
